


anger issues

by imposterhuman



Series: ironstrange vs. the rogues [9]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angry Bruce Banner, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce returns, Comfort, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Post CACW, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Hulk, Sass, Sassy Bruce Banner, Science Bros, Team Iron Man, anger issues, angry hulk, never team cap friendly, not team Cap friendly, pro Accords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 08:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17321357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: bruce comes back after the civil war to be by tonys sidewhen the rogue avengers returns, he lays some truths on themteam iron man! troll me and ill fight you





	anger issues

**Author's Note:**

> gah its like 130 am im so tired
> 
> this is what i get for starting something so late i guess. this was supposed to be short and in outtakes, but my brain had other plans, i guess. thanks, brain.
> 
> have some science bros while i try to formulate my other ideas into something cohesive

Bruce had watched the news coverage of the so-called “Civil War” in a rundown bar in Calcutta, India. It was the trainwreck you couldn’t look away from, the fiery explosion that caught your eye and wouldn’t let you go. He watched as Steve defied the UN and fought Tony, who looked like he was barely holding it together. He watched most of the Avengers (and the Hulk grumbled in his head when he saw the witch) get arrested after a fight at an airport. There was a lull in coverage after the breakout, when Tony didn’t appear in front of the press, where Pepper didn’t have a statement, where no one knew what was happening. The public didn’t know who to crucify, Steve or Tony, but the majority shouted for Steve’s immediate arrest and the adoption of the Accords. 

 

When Tony finally came forward, a full week after the arrests of the Rogue Avengers, he looked worse than he did at his first press conference post-Afghanistan. The doctor in Bruce catalogued injuries that even Tony couldn’t hide; bruises hidden under makeup that were a little too swollen to cover completely, a cast on an arm, and, of course, layers of bandages on his chest that made his shirt rumple enough for Bruce to catch it. These were new, Bruce knew. They hadn’t been there after the airport fight. The press conference was short and to the point; Tony dissolved the Avengers Initiative but vowed to continue to protect the people as Iron Man, but cited health concerns for both Vision and Rhodes (Bruce wondered what could have taken down  _ Vision _ , of all people, but Tony looked grave when he said the android needed some time off). He left without taking questions, and Bruce could see the strain etched into the lines of his face.

 

Bruce was on the next flight to New York, apologies trapped in his throat, the Hulk raging in his head for hurting Tin Man. On the plane, he read through the Accords, both the original and Tony’s amended version. Despite Ross being attached to the original, Bruce agreed with them. He, more than anyone else, knew the need for oversight. He knew intimately the fear of the people inspired by uncollared supers, and he knew the Accords would be a balm on that fear. 

 

Bruce’s flight did not go unnoticed by Tony. He had suspected the man knew  _ exactly  _ where he had run to, had known all along, and his suspicions were confirmed when Tony met him at the airport with an unimpressed, wheelchair-bound Rhodes at his side.

 

“Welcome back, Brucie,” Tony greeted, but his tone was flatter than normal. “Have a nice flight?”

 

Bruce swallowed nervously. “Yeah,” he said faintly. “How have you been?” He cursed internally immediately after saying it; he knew how Tony had been, everyone and their mothers knew how Tony had been. Coverage of the civil war hadn’t abated in the slightest, and Tony was in the center of the growing media storm.

 

“You know, the usual,” Tony replied with an artful shrug. Next to him, Rhodes’s eyes hardened. “How long are you staying for this time?” His tone wasn’t venomous, like Bruce had earned, but resigned. 

 

“As long as you’ll have me,” Bruce said, choked by shame and guilt. Tony must have seen something on his face, because he let some fondness seep into his posture, grabbing Bruce in a one armed hug.

 

“Good to have you back, big guy,” he said, leading them off to a car, Rhodes wheeling behind them.

 

\---

 

“Welcome to the Compound, Doctor Banner,” a man in a red cloak stood in front of the Compound with his arms crossed. If possible, he looked more disapproving than Rhodes. “I’m Doctor Stephen Strange.”

 

Bruce waved awkwardly, noting the sharp look Tony sent to the new man. “It’s fine, Stephen,” he said placatingly. Bruce didn’t quite understand the dynamic and made a mental note to ask Tony about it later. “We’re all good here, promise.”

 

Strange still looked skeptical, but the hostility fell from his eyes. “In that case, Pepper called, you have an SI meeting you can’t skip at 3, and a charity gala this evening.”

 

“You’ll be my date, right?” Tony smirked flirtatiously. It transformed his face, chasing away a bit of the emptiness in his brown eyes.

  
Strange rolled his eyes. “I suppose,” he huffed, and Tony let out a quiet cheer. “Now, go show your guest around before your meeting. He disappeared in a dramatic swirl of gold, making Tony sigh in exasperation.

 

“That’s Stephen for you,” he explained fondly. “He’s the Sorcerer Supreme. Apparently, magic is a big thing now. Physics is dead, and we are all slaves to magical bastards like Stephen.”

 

“Tony,” Bruce took a deep breath. He had to say it. “I’m sorry.”   
  
Tony’s smile turned brittle, fragile. “No need,” he breezed through the Compound, Bruce following awkwardly. 

 

“There  _ is  _ a need, Tony,” Bruce pressed. “I left you. I was so absorbed in my own issues that I didn’t stop to think of you. I should’ve come back during the Accords mess, I should’ve been by your side like a good friend. But I left you, and you had to deal with all this, and that wasn’t fair of me.”   
  


“Life isn’t fair, Brucie,” Tony shrugged, reaching what looked like a lab. “Come in, I moved all the stuff from your old lab over when you got on that plane. Figured you could use something to do as long as you plan to stay.”

 

“I’ll leave when you kick me out,” Bruce replied sadly. “Not before.”

 

Tony hummed noncommittally. “Sure,” he said finally. 

 

Bruce swore internally, the Hulk rumbling his agreement, that they wouldn’t hurt Tony ever again, that they wouldn’t leave him alone to handle what the world threw at him.

 

\---

 

Slowly, slowly, Bruce regained Tony and the others’ trust and forgiveness. It started small, Bruce being there when Tony was breaking down alongside Rhodes and Strange, bringing Tony coffee before a long day of meetings, and sciencing with Tony’s favorite (only) intern. Before long, it was like he never left. He fit into the New Avengers in a way he never did the Old; here, no one feared him or pitied him. He and the Hulk were accepted as teammates, as  _ friends _ , and Bruce had never been happier. 

 

Of course, the universe had it out for Tony Stark and those around him usually got fucked over because of proximity. A year and a half after Bruce’s return, the Rogues were pardoned and Tony was forced to house them in the Compound. 

 

Bruce was livid, the Hulk wreaking havoc inside his mind as Bruce struggled to control him.

 

“This is insanity!” he nearly shouted at the government official who came to deliver the news.

 

“I’m sorry,” the woman said, looking genuinely apologetic. “But the Compound is the only place that can contain them in case of… unforeseen events.” Her mouth twisted angrily.

 

Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. “Great, fine, whatever,” he said, defeated. “Command structure isn’t changing, though. I won’t work under anyone but Carol and Rhodey.”

 

“They’ll technically be your subordinates, Dr. Stark,” the woman said wryly.

 

“Fuck,” Tony sighed, summing up how everyone was feeling. 

 

Stephen (and he was Stephen now; the two had bonded over magic and medicine and the care of idiot geniuses) offered, “I can always send them to the Dark Dimension.”

 

“I’m considering it,” Tony said. “I am very seriously considering it.”

 

No amount of planning could prepare them for the actual arrival of the Rogues. They were a hurricane of vitriol, shouting at Tony before they were even fully off the plane. Bruce had long since left for the Hulk Room with Tony’s blessing; the Hulk was not happy, to say the least, when he heard the Rogues. He smashed every piece of reinforced metal in the Hulk Room to scraps. 

 

Before long, the Rogues were cleared for missions with the rest of the team, including, unfortunately, Bruce. He thought he could handle it, but the all-encompassing roar in his head told him otherwise at the first call to Assemble.

 

“I can’t,” he said apologetically, watching the Rogues get onto the Quinjet. 

 

“Everything okay?” Tony sounded concerned, a far cry from the suspicious glances thrown his way by the Rogues.

 

Bruce answered with gritted teeth. “Hulk isn’t going to smash the right things if I let him out,” he explained. “He has some unresolved anger.”

 

Tony barked out a short laugh. “Understatement of a lifetime,” he said fondly. He and Hulk had a weird friendship, Bruce could readily admit. “Stay behind, we shouldn’t need Hulk anyway. See if you can’t solve that formula that's been kicking our asses.”

 

Bruce smiled, knowing he’d be spending the mission in the Hulk Room. “Thanks,” he said gratefully, and that was that. (He knew that under the Rogues, under  _ Steve _ , he would’ve had to go out anyway. Bruce had never been more grateful to have Tony as his friend.)

 

\---

 

Bruce caught up with the Rogues on a Wednesday, Hulk simmering under his skin. 

 

“Bruce,” Natasha greeted warmly. “It’s been a while.” Her smile was flirty, but her eyes were cold. Bruce wasn’t dumb enough to fall for the same tricks twice.

 

“Romanoff,” he said back, tone showing how little he cared for her seduction tactics. “I’m just here for some coffee.”

 

“Why isn’t the Hulk on missions recently?” Clint, as usual, was tactless. “Is Stark keeping you locked up like a pet? I knew he was just like Ross. Can’t swim with the sharks without growing a fin, you know.”

 

“Shut up,” Bruce’s voice was dangerously low, and he could feel the green spilling into his eyes.

 

“Calm down, Bruce,” Steve’s voice jolted him slightly from his anger, replacing it with confusion. “Clint was just joking, it’s fine.” The anger was back, stronger than before, in the face of Rogers’s condescension.

 

“It’s not fine,” he shot back. “Tony is a good man, he would never  _ keep me locked up like a pet _ .”

 

Steve’s face twisted. “He’s good,” he said hesitantly. “But he’s out of control. He needs a watcher, someone to make sure he doesn’t go too far. We were hoping it could be you, actually.”

 

Bruce rolled his bright green eyes. “Fuck you,” he said calmly. “Tony is working harder than anyone else for you, and god knows why, and  _ this  _ is how you treat him? After everything you’ve put him through, you should be on your knees begging for forgiveness. Instead, you’re shitting on the man who is killing himself to help you. You want to know why I can’t be on the field with you guys?” Bruce laughed darkly. “See, I’m content to knock you down with my words. But Hulk? Hulk is a little less subtle.”

  
“He broke this, he should fix this,” Clint replied petulantly. 

 

Bruce wheeled on him, pulse spiking dangerously. “You were retired!” he shouted. “What the hell are you even doing here? I heard all about the divorce papers from Laura. Was this worth it?”

 

“Bruce,” Natasha tried to placate him, but he was beyond furious at the whole group. 

 

“To think I used to believe us friends,” he sneered, making his way to the exit. “All you’ve ever done is hurt Tony, and I never stood up for him like I should have. Well, now I will, and so will Hulk.”

 

Bruce relished in the way they all gulped nervously. For all their strength, they were still scared of the Other Guy. Bruce missed the New Avengers with a passion right then, missed the way that they were all absent of the rotten-sweet smell of fear. 

 

He bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. “Hurt Tony again, and Hulk will be the least of your worries.”

 

Bruce didn’t look back again, didn’t need to waste more time on the exploded innards of a time bomb. He had sciencing to do with his Science Bro (and maybe a visit to the Hulk Room in his future).

**Author's Note:**

> how did i do? i dont write bruce often, so this is kinda new for me
> 
> prompts/comments/kudos make me smile :)


End file.
